Saltykov Shchedrin is the shortest work. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin - fairy tales
M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Photo. 1980s
THE TALE OF HOW ONE MAN FEED TWO GENERALS *
Once upon a time there lived two generalsnote_2, and since both were frivolous, they soon, at the behest of a pike, at my will, found themselves on a desert island.
Generals served all their lives in some kind of registry note_3; they were born there, raised and grew old, and therefore did not understand anything. They didn’t even know any words except: “Accept the assurance of my complete respect and devotion.”
The registry was abolished as unnecessary and the generals were released. Left behind the staff, they settled in St. Petersburg, on Podyacheskaya Street, in different apartments; Each had their own cook and received a pension. Only suddenly they found themselves on a desert island, woke up and saw: both were lying under the same blanket. Of course, at first they didn’t understand anything and began to talk as if nothing had happened to them.
“Strange, Your Excellency, I had a dream today,” said one general, “I see that I live on a desert island... I said this, but suddenly he jumped up!” Another general also jumped up.
- God! Yes, what is this! Where are we! – they both cried out in voices that were not their own.
And they began to feel each other, as if not in a dream, but in reality such an opportunity happened to them. However, no matter how hard they tried to convince themselves that all this was nothing more than a dream, they had to be convinced of the sad reality.
In front of them, on one side, lay the sea, on the other side lay a small piece of land, behind which lay the same boundless sea. The generals cried for the first time after they closed the registry.
They began to look at each other and saw that they were in nightgowns, and each had an order hanging around their necks.
– Now let’s have a good drink of coffee! - said one general, but he remembered what an unheard of thing happened to him, and he cried for the second time.
– What are we going to do, though? - he continued through tears, - if you write a report now, what good will come of it?
“That’s it,” answered the other general, “you, Your Excellency note_5, go to the east, and I will go to the west, and in the evening we will meet again at this place; maybe we'll find something.
They began to look for where the east is and where the west is. We remembered how the boss once said: “If you want to find the east, then turn your eyes to the north, and in your right hand you will receive what you are looking for.” We started looking for the north, went this way and that, tried all the countries of the world, but since we had served in the registry all our lives, we found nothing.
– Here’s what, Your Excellency: you go to the right, and I’ll go to the left; it will be better this way! - said one general, who, in addition to being a receptionist, also served as a calligraphy teacher at the school of military cantonists note_6 and, therefore, was smarter.
No sooner said than done. One general went to the right and saw trees growing, and all sorts of fruits on the trees. The general wants to get at least one apple, but they all hang so high that you have to climb. I tried to climb, but nothing happened, I just tore my shirt. The general came to the stream and saw: the fish there, as if in a fishpond on the Fontanka, were teeming and teeming.
“If only there were some fish like that on Podyacheskaya!” – thought the general and even his face changed from appetite.
The general went into the forest - and there hazel grouse were whistling, black grouse were talking, hares were running.
- God! some food! some food! - said the general, feeling that he was already starting to feel sick.
There was nothing to do, I had to return to the appointed place empty-handed. He arrives, and the other general is already waiting.
- Well, Your Excellency, have you thought of anything?
- Yes, I found an old issue of Moskovskie Vedomosti, and nothing more!
The generals went to bed again, but they couldn’t sleep on an empty stomach. Either they are worried about who will receive their pension for them, or they remember the fruits they saw during the day, fish, hazel grouse, black grouse, hares.
– Who would have thought, Your Excellency, that human food, in its original form, flies, swims and grows on trees? - said one general.
“Yes,” answered the other general, “I must admit, and I still thought that the rolls would be born in the same form as they are served with coffee in the morning!”
- Therefore, if, for example, someone wants to eat a partridge, he must first catch it, kill it, pluck it, fry it... But how to do all this?
- How to do all this? – like an echo, repeated the other general.
They fell silent and began to try to sleep; but hunger decisively drove away sleep. Hazel grouse, turkeys, piglets flashed before our eyes, juicy, slightly browned, with cucumbers, pickles note_7 and other salad.
“Now I think I could eat my own boot!” - said one general.
– Gloves are also good when they are worn for a long time! – the other general sighed.
Suddenly both generals looked at each other: an ominous fire shone in their eyes, their teeth chattered, and a dull growl came out of their chests. They began to slowly crawl towards each other and in the blink of an eye they became frantic. Shreds flew, squeals and groans were heard; the general, who was a calligraphy teacher, bit off the order from his comrade and immediately swallowed note_8. But the sight of flowing blood seemed to bring them to their senses.
– The power of the cross is with us! - they both said at once, “we’ll eat each other this way!” And how did we get here! who is the villain who played such a trick on us!
“Your Excellency, we need to have some fun with some conversation, otherwise we’ll have a murder here!” - said one general.
- Start! - answered the other general.
– For example, why do you think the sun rises first and then sets, and not vice versa?
– You are a strange person, Your Excellency: but you also get up first, go to the note_9 department, write there, and then go to bed?
- But why not allow such a rearrangement: first I go to bed, see various dreams, and then get up?
- Hm... yes... And I must admit, when I served in the department, I always thought like this: “Now it’s morning, and then it will be day, and then they’ll serve dinner - and it’s time to sleep!”
But the mention of dinner plunged both of them into despondency and stopped the conversation at the very beginning.
“I heard from one doctor that a person can feed on his own juices for a long time,” one general began again.
- How so?
- Yes, sir. It is as if their own juices produce other juices, these, in turn, still produce juices, and so on, until, finally, the juices stop altogether...
The well-known writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin was a truly great creator. As an official, he skillfully denounced the ignorant nobles and praised the ordinary Russian people. The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the list of which numbers more than a dozen, are the property of our classical literature.
"Wild Landowner"
All tales of Mikhail Evgrafovich are written using sharp sarcasm. With the help of heroes (animals or people), he ridicules not so much human vices as the feeblemindedness of higher ranks. The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin, the list of which would be incomplete without the story about the wild landowner, help us see the attitude of the 19th century nobles towards their serfs. The story is small, but it makes you think about many serious things.
A landowner with the strange name Urus Kuchum Kildibaev lives for his own pleasure: he reaps a rich harvest, has luxurious housing and a lot of land. But one day he got tired of the abundance of peasants in his house and decided to get rid of them. The landowner prayed to God, but he did not heed his requests. He began to mock the men in every possible way and began to pressure them with taxes. And then the Lord took pity on them, and they disappeared.
At first, the stupid landowner was happy: now no one bothered him. But later he began to feel their absence: no one cooked his food or cleaned the house. The visiting generals and the police chief called him a fool. But he didn’t understand why they treated him like that. As a result, he became so wild that he even began to look like an animal: he grew hair, climbed trees, and tore his prey with his hands and ate it.
Saltykov-Shchedrin masterfully portrayed the satirical portrayal of the nobleman’s vices. The fairy tale “The Wild Landowner” shows how stupid a person can be who does not understand that he lived well only thanks to his men.
In the end, all the serfs return to the landowner, and life flourishes again: meat is sold at the market, the house is clean and orderly. But Urus Kuchum never returned to its previous appearance. He still moos, missing his old wild life.
"The Wise Minnow"
Many people remember Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fairy tales from childhood, the list of which is quite large: “How a Man Fed Two Generals”, “The Bear in the Voivodeship”, “Kisel”, “The Horse”. True, we begin to understand the real meaning of these stories when we become adults.
Such is the fairy tale “The Wise Minnow”. He lived all his life and was afraid of everything: cancer, water fleas, people and even his own brother. His parents bequeathed to him: “Look both ways!” And the minnow decided to hide all his life and not catch anyone’s eye. And he lived like this for more than a hundred years. I have never seen or heard anything in my entire life.
Saltykov-Shchedrin's fairy tale "The Wise Minnow" makes fun of stupid people who are ready to live their whole lives in fear of any danger. Now the old fish thought about what he lived for. And he felt so sad because he did not see the white light. I decided to emerge from behind my snag. And after that no one saw him.
The writer laughs that even a pike won’t eat such an old fish. The gudgeon in the work is called wise, but this is undoubtedly because it is extremely difficult to call him smart.
Conclusion
The tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin (their list is listed above) have become a real treasure trove of Russian literature. How clearly and wisely the author describes human shortcomings! These stories have not lost their relevance in our time. In this they are similar to fables.
Both adults and children love to read Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fascinating fairy tales. The fact is that they are not like others, as they are rich in vivid images and original plots. The author actually founded a new genre of political fairy tale, in which he combined elements of fantasy with real-life events. All Saltykov-Shchedrin's tales are created on the basis of the traditions of Russian and Western European folklore; they are permeated with satire, the elements of which Shchedrin learned from the great fabulist Krylov.
Read Saltykov-Shchedrin's tales
In all his works, Saltykov-Shchedrin raises the problem of class inequality. His tales also tell about this in an allegorical form. Here, the collective image of the oppressed working people is personified by a positive protagonist - a kind, harmless animal or person whom the author simply calls “a man.” Shchedrin shows lazy and evil rich people in the images of predators or people representing high ranks (for example, generals).
Moreover, the author endows the man with kindness, intelligence, ingenuity, generosity and hard work. He clearly sympathizes with him and, in his person, with all the poor people forced to work hard for rich tyrants all their lives. The man treats his masters with irony, without, however, losing his own dignity.
Also with sympathy in his fairy tales, Saltykov-Shchedrin describes kind, cute animals that suffer from their evil predatory counterparts. He endows the animals with human character traits, making Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fairy tales even more interesting to read. And a thoughtful reader, having had a good laugh at the comical actions of animals, quickly understands that in people’s lives everything happens exactly the same, and that the existing reality is sometimes cruel and unfair.
